Geraldton — On Thursday, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, was at Geraldton District Hospital on behalf of Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
In a busy week in the Thunder Bay region, Minister Rickford was announcing that Ontario will invest up to $17.8 million to support redeveloping the hospital’s emergency department and celebrate the start of construction. Hospital infrastructure projects like these will build more capacity in busy hospital emergency departments and directly help end hallway health care.
“This is a very exciting day for the Geraldton community,” said Rickford. “Once completed, the new emergency department at Geraldton District Hospital will provide patients and families with better, faster access to emergency care in a space that can meet the needs of a growing community now and in the future.”
The project is expected to be completed in spring 2021 and patients will benefit from:
- A new emergency department with five treatment rooms, that supports better accessibility, privacy, and infection prevention and control.
- A chemotherapy suite with two treatment spaces.
- A dedicated space for families.
- A dedicated space for navigators to provide culturally appropriate support, care coordination and advocacy for Indigenous patients and families.
“Investing in expanded hospital capacity and adding more beds in is a critical component of our comprehensive plan to end hallway health care,” added Elliott. “This investment is another example of how Ontario will reduce wait times for the emergency health services that people in the community rely on every day.”
This project is part of the government’s commitment to invest $27 billion over the next 10 years in hospital infrastructure projects across Ontario, adding 3,000 new hospital beds.
“We thank the Government of Ontario for this significant investment in health care in our region,” shared Lucy Bonanno, CEO Geraldton District Hospital. “This project will improve patient care in the region, including helping end hallway health care, by increasing capacity while ensuring emergency health care is provided in a modern efficient facility.”
